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Every August since 2012 the research, air guard, and local communities come together in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland to participate in the ‘Running of Moskus’ 5k and half marathon races and BBQ. Audrey Jo Mills from Polar Field Services spearheads the organization of this fantastic event. All money raised goes to the local school, almost $8,000 in 2014! Here are a few highlights captured during the 3rd Annual run in 2014:

There is a glacial bay in south eastern Iceland that is one of the most beautiful places on earth: Jökulsárlón.

Images of its ever changing ice flow and sandy beaches are everywhere but they never seem to lose their ability to capture a viewers attention and imagination.

I drove past this area last September while completing my trip around Iceland’s Route 1, aka the Ring Road. Here’s a quick clip of the people and the place, compressed down into 6 seconds of ice-bobbing glory!

Two bull caribou linger in an autumn shadow. I took this photo last September while making my rounds on my time-lapse camera network checking batteries and downloading images. The few weeks in spring and fall when vegetation greens up and later browns capture biological activity that is usually spread out over months at lower latitudes. These so called “shoulder seasons” are critical periods in determining the reproductive prospects of the local caribou population. The long Pennsylvania winter is almost over and I look forward to returning to the chilly Greenland tundra in a few short weeks.

The road was my conversation. The soothing drone of asphalt contrasting the staccatoed chatter of gravel striking the undercarriage. Always conversations held at a distance, filtered through metal and plastic but brought to life by the vivid imagery rolling slowly to my rear. Ten days of silence on the Ring Road was my transition back to society after spending so much time alone on the Greenlandic tundra. Rarely is the transition home so gradual.

I took this photo as I neared the end of my circumnavigation of Iceland’s Route 1. It captured my feeling that evening, blending the pull of a beautiful landscape with a reminder of friends that were far away.